The Role of Effort–Reward Imbalance for Reservists on a Military Deployment

Security providing leadership and work stress in Spanish Air Force

Leadership plays a key role in the well-being of military personnel, either contributing to health improvement or, conversely, becoming a source of stress. In the present study we propose that security providing leadership can reduce work stress in the military context. Furthermore, we suggest that security-providing leaders exert their positive influence on work stress by creating a psychological safety climate and preventing organizational dehumanization. A sample of 204 members (72.5% men) of the Spanish Air Force volunteered to participate in this empirical study and completed an online questionnaire and both the direct and indirect structural equation models were analyzed. Results show a negative relationship between security providing leadership and work stress. Additionally, organizational dehumanization and psychological safety climate act as mediators in this relationship. These results support this novel approach to leadership in the military context. They also offer new ways to create better organizational environments. By treating their subordinates in a personalized manner and supporting them, security-providing leaders can improve employees' perceptions of psychological safety climate and combat feelings of organizational dehumanization, which, in turn, can reduce work stress.

Impact of effort–reward imbalance on undergraduates' aggressive behavior: The mediating role of perceived justice and hostile attribution

Effort–reward imbalance can predict aggressive behavior, but the mechanism of its influence is not yet clear to researchers. Thus, in this study we explored the mediating roles of perceived justice and hostile attribution in the relationship between effort–reward imbalance and aggressive behavior in an educational setting. Using the Effort–Reward Imbalance Scale for University Students, the Chinese version of the Perceived Justice Scale for College Students, the hostile attribution subscale of the Social Information Processing Attribution Bias Questionnaire, and the Chinese version of the Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire, we conducted a survey with 1,660 Chinese undergraduates. The results show that perceived justice played a mediating role in the relationship between effort–reward imbalance and aggressive behavior, as did hostile attribution. In addition, perceived justice and hostile attribution had a chain mediating effect in the link between effort–reward imbalance and aggressive behavior. Thus, effort–reward imbalance affects aggressive behavior not only directly but also indirectly through perceived justice and hostile attribution. Our findings enrich the literature on aggressive behavior by helping to understand how individuals become aggressive after the frustrating experience of receiving insufficient reward for their efforts.

Methodological and conceptual issues in studying effort-reward fit

Purpose

Research on effort-reward “imbalance” (ERI) has gained popularity in the occupational health literature, and authors typically use effort-reward ratios (ERRs) to study this phenomenon. This article provides a methodological and theoretical critique of this literature and suggestions on how future research can better study joint effects of efforts and reward.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a simulation study, analyzed panel data and surveyed the literature on the theoretical and methodological basis of the “imbalance” concept.

Findings

The simulation study indicates that under many conditions the ERR captures main effects of effort and reward and that effects also depend on the scaling of the variables. The panel data showed that when main effects and the interactions of effort and reward are entered simultaneously in a regression predicting mental and physical health, the significant effect of the ERRs disappears. The literature review reveals that psychological theories include more elaborate theoretical ideas on joint effects of effort and reward.

Research limitations/implications

The results suggest that moderated multiple regression analyses are better suited to detect a misfit between effort and reward than ERRs. The authors also suggest to use the term effort-reward fit in future research.

Originality/value

Methodologically and conceptually the authors showed that the ERR is not an appropriate approach because it confuses main effects with interaction effects. Furthermore, the concept of ERI is better substituted by a broader conceptualization of effort-reward fit that can be integrated with the existing literature on person-environment fit. Recommendations for future research are provided.

Psychometric Properties of the Effort-Reward Imbalance Questionnaire for Teachers (Teacher ERIQ)

The effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model is a theoretical model of a psychosocial work environment with adverse effects on health and well-being that focuses on a mismatch between high efforts spent and low rewards received at work. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically test an effort-reward imbalance questionnaire for teachers (Teacher ERIQ) based on the ERI model. The structure validity, reliability, and criterion validity of the new questionnaire’s scores were evaluated in a sample of 475 Chinese teachers. The results of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that a structure of four factors of effort (workload, emotional demands, student-related issues, and social responsibility) and two factors of reward (emotional reward and material reward) in accordance with the ERI model had significant factor loadings and acceptable model fit. The Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients of all dimensions’ scores showed that the questionnaire scores had good reliability. Criterion validity was indicated by significant correlation coefficients of scores of most dimensions along with teachers’ self-reported job burnout and non-reciprocal social relations, as well as the ANOVA results showing that the differences of the scores of the two criterion scales in different ERI ratio levels were significant. The results also showed that teacher’s ERI level varied with demographic variables such as age, gender and school type. The Teacher ERIQ is a valid and reliable new measurement for assessing teachers’ psychosocial work characteristics. It can be an important tool to provide new explanations of stress-related health risks among teachers and to guide the development of preventive measurements.